Thursday, August 7th

“Stoooooop,” Jodi whined. The effect ruined by the giggles that followed. Her husband, in an unusually playful mood considering the hour, held her arms together and nipped at her neck repeatedly. She gasped his name, he pretended to not hear. “JiYong . . . I have to work.”

“All you have to do is walk downstairs. Just a few more minutes, hmm?” He nuzzled his nose against the lightly scented skin of her neck and bit into it gently. Then harder and she tensed before . JiYong shifted and pulled her knee so that he could cradle better between her thighs. Jodi’s hands slid up and down his back. When he bit again, she in through her teeth and dug her nails in.

“Yongie . . .,” her voice broke as she whispered the word. JiYong switched to the other side of her neck and gave it the same treatment. He slid his hands up her waist and rested on her full s. Squeezing gently, JiYong added a of his hips to hers. “Dammit, JiYo—”

He kissed her lips to silence her. One of his hands slipped under her shirt, causing her to groan again. Jodi’s legs tightened around his waist even as her hands weakly pushed at his shoulders. She let her head fall back against the cushion with a grin on her face. Jodi cracked her eyes open, then screamed. “Oh, what the !”

“No, don’t mind me,” SooYoung said with a stern expression. “I mean, you only have to come downstairs . . . why be on time for that? Take your time. This is way more important. We don't need you for anything, like, taking pictures, or what have you.”

Jodi tugged her shirt down as best she could with JiYong laying on her chest. “You could have said something. How long were you watching, ?”

“Long enough to know you two need to just go ahead and do it already,” SooYoung said with a sickenly sweet smile. “Hurry up. Your subject is waiting.”

After JiYong heard the door click, he raised his head. “Is she really gone?”

“Yes. And she’s right. I have to get to work.” Jodi slid out from under him and adjusted her clothes. She tried to stand up, but he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her back down. “Babe . . .”

“I know, I know.” JiYong kissed her neck before letting her get up. He slapped her behind as she walked away. She glared at him over her shoulder, but it held no real heat. “Do you need me to do anything before dinner tonight?”

“Nah. After the shoot this morning, I’ll go grocery shopping and prep all that. I can do that while the crew sets up.”

JiYong nodded as he stood and met her at the door. With his hands on her cheeks, he pulled her in for another kiss. “Have a good day. Work hard.”

“That is such a cultural difference,” Jodi said with a smile. JiYong tilted his head, wordlessly letting her know he didn’t understand. “In America, when someone is about to go to work, we say, ‘Don’t work too hard.’ Here, you say, ‘Work hard today.’ Just a different outlook.”

“Huh. I never thought of that,” he admitted with a slow nod. “I like your way better. It’s more relaxed.”

“I do—” Jodi’s words got cut off by a loud bang on the door that scared them both. “I’m coming!”

JiYong smiled, kissed her one last time. “I love you. Don’t work too hard.”

* * * * *

“Hyuuuuuuung!” JiYong called as soon as he set foot in the studio. He threw his massive Hermes HAC bag on the couch and hugged Teddy’s neck from behind. Teddy fought him off and pushed him away.

“What is wrong with you?” JiYong just dropped into the chair beside him and laughed. Teddy asked, “Did you finally get some?”

JiYong narrowed his eyes at him but didn’t answer. He reached to turn the computer on, but the ringing of his phone stopped him.

Sajangnim: Come see me.

“I’ll be back, hyung.” JiYong announced as he stood.

“You just got here?!”

* * * * *

Meanwhile . . .

“Can you turn a little to your left, please? And arch your back more. Perfect. Stay like that for a moment, please,” Jodi directed the older woman politely. She knelt down a few feet away and continued to photograph her profile. “Great, you’re doing great. Now, can you lift your right arm behind your head? Like this.”

Jodi stopped to demonstrate the pose, then nodded when it was completed. She moved in closer to better photograph the woman’s shoulders. She caught SooYoung’s face out of the corner of her eye and saw her point behind her. Jodi looked back, only to see YooJin standing there, watching. She looked back at Soo, who shrugged her shoulder. Jodi nodded, took a few more pictures and called for a break. She handed her camera to SooYoung as she walked by.

“Eomonim,” Jodi said politely with a bow as she approached.

YooJin nodded her head briefly and looked around. “Was that Joo Hyun Mi up there?”

“Yes, it was. Would you like to meet her?”

“No, no. I came here to speak to you. Can we . . .” she trailed off with a lift of her brow.

“Yes, of course. Would you like to go upstairs?” Jodi asked, so very curious. YooJin nodded and turned. Jodi’s caught SooYoung’s eyes and held up ten fingers. SooYoung nodded that she understood. By the time she got outside the studio, YooJin was halfway up the stairs. Jodi caught up to her and rushed ahead to open the door. “Would you like anything to drink?”

“Green tea,” YooJin told her shortly. Jodi the electric kettle and pulled down mugs. While she prepared the tea, she watched YooJin wander around the apartment. She stopped at the door to the twin’s room and opened it. Jodi watched her walk in and smooth the wrinkles out of one of the beds before coming back out. She sat at the counter and folded her hands. Jodi handed her a cup of tea and sat with a seat between them. She said nothing, just waited for YooJin to speak first. “So, being a stay-at-home mom bores me.”

She said it so abruptly that Jodi snorted into her cup. “Sorry. You surprised me.”

YooJin nodded and blew on her drink. “I miss the challenge, and I was approached by an old colleague. She would like me to come on as a case advisor, a few days a week.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly. “I am here to . . . ask you . . . if you would mind watching my sons on the days that I work.”

“Of course,” Jodi told her, needing no time to consider. “I would be glad to.”

“It would be Monday, Tuesday, and some Wednesdays. School starts back up for them soon, and since they can’t transfer within a district, they need to be close. If you pick them up on Sunday, I'll get them from school on Tuesday,” YooJin explained. Jodi nodded again. She didn’t care about YooJin’s reasons, she just wanted access to her brothers again.

“I can work on my schedule so I can pick them up on the way home.”

“Thank you.” YooJin set the untouched tea back down and stood.

“YooJin-ssi,” Jodi called out. YooJin turned and raised her eyebrow. “Thank you.”

YooJin nodded before going to the door to slip her shoes back on. YooJin adjusted her purse on her shoulder and played with the strap. “I'm sure I won't see you tomorrow, so . . . Happy birthday.”

* * * * *

“Come in,” JiYong heard from the other side of the large doors. He let himself into the spacious office and made his way to HyunSuk's desk. Because HyunSuk didn't acknowledge him, he continued to stand there. It had been a long time since he wasn’t immediately told to sit. Unused to the treatment, he had to stand there and endure the feeling of all the action figures staring at the back of his neck. JiYong didn’t move, though. He knew it was one of HyunSuk tactics to throw people off. So he did his best to look like he was unbothered.

Four minutes later, Yang HyunSuk stopped typing and turned the monitor of his computer screen off. He leaned forward and clasped his hands on the desk. “Do you know why I called you in here?”

“Not really,” JiYong answered honestly.

“You know that there’s been talk of Louis Vuitton investing sums of money into this company, right?” JiYong nodded, because that seemed like the appropriate reaction. “They’re leaning heavily towards a yes.”

“That's good, right? What’s holding them back?”

“You.”

“Me?” JiYong asked and pointed at himself. “What does it have to do with me?”

“It’s the lack of you, I should say,” HyunSuk said to clarify. “It’s no secret that a lot of the income for this company is generated by you. Even though you’ve been pretty inactive this year, you’re still out-earning the bulk of the people in this building. But the people at Louis Vuitton want to see more of you. They need to see you working to feel confident that this deal will work.”

JiYong felt ill as he asked, “How?”

“A single, a simple video and short promotion time. Three weeks, maybe.”

“Hyung . . .”

HyunSuk raised his hand to stop him from speaking. “They’re also thinking of having you, ChaeLin and big SeungHyun model for them. Internationally.”

“Really?!” JiYong was too stunned to move for a second, his mind racing with all the exposure and connections that could bring for them. The opportunity could be huge for him. JiYong found himself nodding while rubbing his chin. “Okay. I think I have a song ready. With some simple choreography, it can be released by the end of the month. I'll talk to YoungBae and see if we can do a joint performance as my cycle ends and his starts.”

“Good, I’m glad that you’re thinking this through. Once you’re off that show next week, we can start preparations for a—”

“Excuse me? Leave the show?” JiYong asked with his eyes wide. He felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. “Hyung, I can do b